Life-boat



(No Model.) B Sheets-Sheet 1. W. E'. JAMES.

LIFE BOAT. No. 566,766. Patented Sept. 1,1896.

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.Lut f@ (No Model.) 2 SheetS-Sheet 2.

W. F. JAMES.

, LIFE BOAT. No, 566,766. Patented Sept. l, 1896.

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WILLIAM F. JAMES, OF QUINTANA, TEXAS.

LIFE-BOAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 566,766, dated September 1, 1896.

Application filed September 18, 1895. Serial No. 562,875. (No model.)

To all whom t may con/cern,.-

Be it known that I, W'ILLIAM F. J AMES, of Quintana, in the county of Brazoria and State of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Life-Boat, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved life-boat which is simple and durable in construction, arranged to be propelled by power to a ship in distress, to rescue and save the persons on board.

The invention consists principally of a central closed hull equipped with propelling inachinery, and iioats extending on the sides of the said hull and rigidly secured thereto, to support the hull in position.

The invention also consists of certain parts and details and combinations of the same, as will be fully described hereinafter and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this speciiication, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a side elevation of the improvement. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation of the same. Fig. et is a cross-section of the same on the line et t of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional plan View of the revoluble hatch.

The improved life-boat is provided with a central hull A, alongside of which are arranged the floats B and B', located on opposite sides of the hull and parallel thereto, as is plainly indicated in Fig. 2, the said floats being adapted to be partially submerged in the water when the life-boat is afloat. (See Fig. i.) The floats B and B' are rigidly connected with the central hull A by shafts and braces C, so that the said oats serve to break the force of the Waves coming toward the lifeboat, so as not to strike the central hull A with great force.

The central hull A is provided with bulkheads D, as plainly indicated in Fig. 3, to form water-tight compartments, of which the middle one is used as an engine and boiler room, and inthe adjacent ones extend ladders E up into outlet-towers F, extending a suitable distance above the deck of the hull A, to carry at their upper ends revoluble hatches F', adapted to close the sides of the towers near their upper ends, or to open the same to permit the egress and ingress of persons from and to the towers. The revoluble hatches F' open upon a platform G, supported above the deck'of the hull A and cX- tending from one tower to the other and somewhat beyond the saine, as plainly indicated in the drawings. Ladders H lead from the platform G downward and outward to the top of the floats B and B', so that the said ladders can be conveniently reached from the level of the water.

In the middle compartment of the hull A are arranged the boilers, engines, 3u mps, and

like devices used for propelling the life-boat forward or backward, as the case may be. For this purpose I prefer a pump I, drawing water in through the bottom of the hull A, discharging it through either pipe I' or 12 at the rear or front end of the hull to propel the vessel forward or backward. The pipes I' and I2 are provided with suitable valves for opening or closing the same. The pump I is also provided with sets of water-discharge pipes J J and J 2 J 3, intended for steering purposes, and of which the pipes J J' extend through the sides of the hull A to the iioats B and B' and inside thereof to their rear ends, to discharge the water through the bottom of the iioats. The other set of pipes J 2 J 5 lead from the pump I to the iioats B and B' and extend forward therein, and likewise discharge through the bottom of the floats. It is understood that the sets of pipes are provided with suitable valves for opening and closing the same as required. Now it will be seen that by closing either of the pipes in one of the sets of pipes and only using one pipe causes a steering of the vessel either to the right or to the left, so that no rudder or like steering device is required. It is also understood that by the arrangement described the vessel can also be propelled in either a forward or backward direction, according to through which set of pipes J J or J J 3 the water is forced by the pump I.

The ends of the sets of pipes J J' and J 2 J 3 extend downward and outward, (see Fig. 4,) to cause the water to pass in a downward and outward direction for propelling and steering the boat, as above mentioned.

IOO

In case the iioat B is down in the trough.

of the sea and the float B' is raised on a Wave, then the central hull A is over to one side to such an extent that the openings of the pipes J J 2 or J J 3 are closed by an automatic arrangement,'so as to raise the low float up to its proper level, as the force of water passing only through the other pipes would be sufcient to establish an equilibrium. The pump I is also connected by suitable pipes with the various compartments and the interior of the ioats, so that in case of accident and the compartments become flooded they can readily be pumped empty and the water utilized for propelling purposes by forcing it through the sets of pipes J J and J 2 J 3. It will be seen thatby having the iioats a suitable distance from the. central hull A the water can readily pass up between the floats and hull, so that the force of the waves is broken before they reach the central hull, and the oats tend at all times to hold the entire boat steady and prevent it from being capsized. As the boat has no rudder or exterior screw-propeller, it can readily stand the roughest water Without danger of being damaged or disabled. When approaching a Wreck, the persons on board the same can readily pass onto the life-boat either directly on the platform or down upon the ioats, to pass to the ladder H upon the platform, and from there to the open hatches F', down the towers F, upon the ladders E, to the interior of the central hull A.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A life-boat, provided with a central hull, towers extending from the top thereof, ladders leading from the hull up to the said towers, a revoluble hatch for the upper ends of the said towers, and a platform supported above the said hull and upon which open the said hatches, substantially as shown and described.

2. A life-boat, comprising a central hull, floats arranged parallel with the hull and rigidly connected therewith, a platform eX tending above the said hnll,towers connecting the said platform with the interior of the hull, hatches at the upper end of the towers opening to the platform, and ladders eXtendf ing from the said platform tov the said ioats, substantially as shown and described,

3. A life-boat, comprising a central hull, floats extending parallel to the said central hull and rigidly connected therewith, and a hydraulic propelling device located in the said central hull and having its pipes extending int-o the. said loats to eject Water through the same, to propel the boat forward or backward, orA to steer the same, substantially as shown and described.

WILLIAM F. JAMES.

Witnesses:

D. F. Rows, F. W. Sra-virus. 

